Text editors

On Linux, you have a choice of text editors. Some are easy-to-use but have limited functionality; others require training to use and take a long time to master, but offer incredible functionality.

Desktop graphical editors

Leafpad

On Raspbian, you'll find an editor called Leafpad. This is a simple editor which opens in a window like a normal application. It allows use of the mouse and keyboard, and has tabs and syntax highlighting.
You can use keyboard shortcuts, such as Ctrl + S to save a file and Ctrl + X to exit.

Thonny

Thonny is a Python REPL and IDE, so you can write and edit Python code in a window and run it from there.
Thonny has independent windows and syntax highlighting, and uses Python 3

GVim

See Vim below.

Geany

A fast and lightweight IDE, supporting many different file types, including C/C++ and Python. Installed by default on Raspbian.

Command-line editors

Nano

GNU Nano is at the easy-to-use end of command-line editors. It's installed by default, so use nano somefile.txt to edit a file, and keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl + O to save and Ctrl + X to exit.

Vi

Vi is a very old (c. 1976) command-line editor, which is available on most UNIX systems and is pre-installed on Raspbian. It's succeeded by Vim (Vi Improved), which requires installation.
Unlike most editors, Vi and Vim have a number of different modes. When you open Vi with vi somefile.txt, you start in command mode which doesn't directly permit text entry. Press i to switch to insert mode in order to edit the file, and type away. To save the file you must return to command mode, so press the Escape key and enter :w (followed by Enter), which is the command to write the file to disk.
To search for the word 'raspberry' in a file, make sure you're in command mode (press Escape), then type /raspberry followed by n and N to flick forwards/backwards through the results.
To save and exit, enter the command :wq. To exit without saving, enter the command :q!.
Depending on your keyboard configuration, you may find your cursor keys don't work. In this case, you can use the H-J-K-L keys (which move left, down, up, and right respectively) to navigate the file in command mode.

Vim

Vim is an extension of Vi and works in much the same way, with a number of improvements. Only Vi is installed by default so to get the full features of Vim, install it with APT:

sudo apt-get install vim

You can edit a file in Vim with vim somefile.txt. Vim also has a graphical version which opens in a window and allows interaction with the mouse. This version is installable separately:

sudo apt-get install vim-gnome

To use the graphical version of Vim, use gvim somefile.txt. You can save configuration in a .vimrc file in your user's home directory. To learn more about editing in Vi and Vim, you can run vimtutor and follow the tutorial.

Emacs

Emacs is a GNU command-line text editor; it's powerful, extensible, and customisable. You can install it with APT:

sudo apt-get install emacs

You can use keyboard combination commands, such as Ctrl + X Ctrl + S to save and Ctrl + X Ctrl + C to close.

Quiz

IT Questions and Answers :)

Sunday, August 25, 2019

By default, what command-line text editor does Raspberry Pi use?